Department of Health and Social Care

Blood: Contamination

Lord Field of Birkenhead: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Infected Blood Inquiry, how manypeople were infected by contaminated blood; how many of those died as a consequence; and how many are now eligible for interim compensation paymentsunder the Infected Blood Support Scheme.

Lord Field of Birkenhead: To ask His Majesty's Government how many people who were infected with contaminated blood (1) are eligible for, and (2) have received, the £100,000 interim compensation payment under the Infected Blood Support Scheme.

Lord Markham: The Infected Blood Inquiry’s terms of reference include the task to “ascertain, as far as practicable, the likely numbers of people who have been infected (directly or indirectly) in consequence of: a) the use of infected blood; and b) the use of infected blood products”.To this end, the Inquiry’s Statistical Expert Group has published two reports. The first, published in September 2022, contains estimated numbers of people infected by blood and blood products as well as estimated numbers of those people who subsequently died; however, this excludes those with Hepatitis B and secondary infections. The second supplementary report, published in July 2023, updates the Committee’s estimates of the numbers of people who died because of their infection. Due to its size, a copy of the first report has been placed in the Library. A copy of the second report is attached.In July, the Inquiry published a note on interim compensation payments made on behalf of the Government by the four national Infected Blood Support Schemes. The note shows the number of people registered and payments made as of July 2023; however, information on the numbers of eligible people is not available. A copy of the note is attached.Interim Payments made by Devolved Administration S (pdf, 227.2KB)Expert Report to the Infected Blood Inquiry (pdf, 877.4KB)

Respiratory System: Diseases

Baroness Wolf of Dulwich: To ask His Majesty's Government whatintensive care unit stockpiles are in existence which are available and suitable for usefor a future respiratory pandemic; and what plans they have to maintain these stockpiles and at what levels.

Lord Markham: The United Kingdom currently stockpiles medicines, vaccines, respiratory equipment including ventilators, and clinical consumables for a future pandemic.The Department holds a strategic reserve of Intensive Care Unit equipment, originally set up in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is currently scaled to provide support for up to 1,000 intensive care unit bays and holds both invasive and non-invasive ventilators which can be accessed by National Health Service trusts across the UK.During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department additionally procured a range of medicines to support intensive care, based on critical need and supply resilience. This included, but was not limited to, analgesia, sedation, and antibiotics. Options to maintain access to these products, including stockpiling for a future pandemic and potential volumes required, are currently being considered.

Blood: Contamination

Lord Field of Birkenhead: To ask His Majesty's Government how many individuals who are known to have been infected with contaminated blood have died without having received any compensation paymentunder the Infected Blood Support Scheme.

Lord Field of Birkenhead: To ask His Majesty's Government how many individuals have died as a consequence of infection from contaminated blood who were receiving compensation payments under the Infected Blood Support Scheme, and what was the range of such payments.

Lord Field of Birkenhead: To ask His Majesty's Government how many individuals who died as a consequence of infection from contaminated blood were (1) refused compensation payments, and (2) awaiting compensation payments granted,under the Infected Blood Support Scheme.

Lord Markham: The various Infected Blood Support Schemes in the United Kingdom have provided ex gratia support payments rather than compensation. Interim compensation payments were made by the Infected Blood Interim Compensation Payment Scheme administered on behalf of the Government by the administrators of the UK infected blood support schemes (and in Scotland by the Scottish Ministers in conjunction with the administrators of the Scottish Infected Blood Support Scheme).The information requested concerning support scheme payments is not available.

Respiratory System: Diseases

Baroness Wolf of Dulwich: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whetherintensive care unitcapacity is secure in the event of a future respiratory pandemic, given current UK manufacturing capacity.

Lord Markham: The Department continues to plan and prepare for a range of pandemic and emerging infectious disease scenarios, including those caused by respiratory (influenza and non-influenza), contact and vector-borne pathogens. The Department’s plans build on lessons learned from exercises and incidents, including the COVID-19 pandemic.The Department currently holds a strategic reserve of intensive care unit equipment, originally established in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The strategic reserve holds both invasive and non-invasive ventilators, with supporting equipment which can be accessed by National Health Service trusts across the United Kingdom and provides capacity to provide support for up to 1,000 intensive care unit bays. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department additionally procured a range of medicines to support intensive care, based on critical need and supply resilience. This included, but was not limited to, analgesia, sedation, and antibiotics. Options to maintain access to these products, including stockpiling for a future pandemic and potential volumes required, are currently being considered.NHS England has published Adult Critical Care surge planning guidance, which sets out escalation thresholds and the actions required by trusts, systems, regional and national teams to support a response to any sudden increase in demand on services. A copy of this guidance is attached.Adult critical care surge plan guidance (pdf, 397.6KB)

Blood: Contamination

Lord Field of Birkenhead: To ask His Majesty's Government what provisions they have made to support the surviving adult children of a parent who died as a result of contamination with infected blood.

Lord Markham: The Infected Blood Support Schemes in the United Kingdom offer certain discretionary payments following the death of a registered beneficiary, some of which may be available to support surviving adult children, for example, estates of the bereaved can apply for a £10,000 one-off bereavement payment to help with the immediate costs associated with the loss of a loved one.

General Practitioners

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government, with reference to the article Practice under pressure: how can the exodus of GPs be reversedpublished on 31 August by Dr Imelda McDermott and Dr Sharon Spooner, what consideration they have given to the introduction of new business models for general practices; and what discussions they have had with general practices about the introduction of new business models.

Lord Markham: General Practice (GP) partnerships, individually and through Primary Care Networks, deliver high quality care to patients all over the country. The Government continues to support the partnership model which has underpinned general practice since before the establishment of the National Health Service, and has many advantages. While partnerships holding a GP contract will continue to be in the majority, it is important that sustainable alternative models are available to mitigate difficulties in recruitment and retention. The partnership model is not the only model currently delivering general practice. GP practices can and do choose to organise themselves in different ways to support scale and resilience, many of which cite evidence of good outcomes in terms of staff engagement and patient experience.

Department for Work and Pensions

National Insurance Contributions

Baroness Altmann: To ask His Majesty's Government what estimates they have made, if any, of the cost savings that would result from increasing the minimum years of National Insurance contributions required for a full State Pension from 35 to 45.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: No such assessment has been made. The number of Qualifying Years required for a full State Pension strikes a balance between achieving wide coverage, maintaining the contributory principle and ensuring the overall affordability of the State Pension.

State Retirement Pensions: Uprating

Baroness Altmann: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the change in value of the full basic state pension weekly payment in 2023–24 if it had been linked only toconsumer price index inflation since 2010.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: The full weekly amount of basic State Pension would have been worth £139.10 in 2023-24 if it had been uprated by inflation (CPI) since 2010.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Nagorno Karabakh: Refugees

The Lord Bishop of Coventry: To ask His Majesty's Government what (1) humanitarian assistance, and (2) financial support, they are offering the government of Armenia to meet the needs of refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK is providing £1 million to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to provide life-saving medication, healthcare and other essential support to those affected by the recent conflict. The UK has also deployed medical staff, through the British government's official Emergency Medical Team, to help treat those injured in the fuel depot blast in Nagorno-Karabakh on 25 September. We are liaising with the UN, ICRC and others to assess humanitarian need in the region and if further UK assistance is required.

Nagorno Karabakh: Armed Conflict

The Lord Bishop of Coventry: To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Azerbaijan to allow international observers into Nagorno-Karabakh to monitor the ceasefire agreement of 20 September.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: It is vital that international humanitarian organisations have independent access into Nagorno-Karabakh, so they can assess humanitarian need and respond appropriately. His Majesty's Ambassador to Baku raised this with Azerbaijani officials, We therefore welcome Azerbaijan's decision on 1 October to allow UN agencies into Nagorno-Karabakh, to complement ongoing efforts by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

Cyprus: Roads

Lord Rogan: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 18 September (HL9844), what discussions if any they are holding with the government of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus to supportbothGreek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots living in the village of Pile.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: In accordance with the rest of the international community, with the sole exception of Turkey, the UK does not recognise the self-declared 'Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus' as an independent state. The UK recognises the Republic of Cyprus as the sovereign authority for the island of Cyprus. We have engaged with all parties, including Turkish Cypriot authorities, about recent events in the UN Buffer Zone. We welcome the diplomatic understanding announced on 9 October and recognise the constructive approach taken by all sides, along with the critical role of the UN, to find a way forward that meets the needs of both communities.

Female Genital Mutilation

Baroness Hodgson of Abinger: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to (1) address, and (2) advocate against, the incidence of female genital mutilation being performed by healthcare workers in countries where it is nationally banned but historically performed.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Ending Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a priority for the FCDO and we are clear that there is no medical justification for the practice.The UK Government is investing £35 million through our Africa-Led Movement (ALM) to End FGM programme.Data generation through the programme has helped to build awareness of increased rates of medicalised FGM. The UK has engaged healthcare workers, through the World Health Organisation, to prevent FGM and care for survivors.We are strengthening the health system response through our support to the UN Joint Programme on FGM. In 2021, the programme developed advocacy guidelines for health care providers in Indonesia on ending medicalised FGM.

Ministry of Defence

Kosovo: Peacekeeping Operations

Lord Kilclooney: To ask His Majesty's Government whether there are any UK armed forces in Kosovo; and if so, whether they are within a NATO or EU armed presence.

Baroness Goldie: The UK routinely contributes 41 personnel to NATO's KFOR mission, including an important contribution to KFOR’s intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capability. Additionally, a defence advisor and a non-resident Defence Attaché support our bilateral relationship with Kosovo. Following a request from Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) and as outlined in the Gov.uk press release published on 1 October 2023, the UK will also deploy the Strategic Reserve Force held at readiness in the UK. Around 200 soldiers from 1st Battalion of the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment will join the 400-strong British contingent already in country as part of an annual exercise. This follows on from the violent attack on Kosovo Police in northern Kosovo on 24 September and increasing tensions in the region.

Home Office

Bibby Stockholm: Costs

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask His Majesty's Government how much they have paid for the Bibby Stockholm barge since it has been empty.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: Accommodation costs are considered to be commercially confidential. Therefore, the Home Office does not publish this information. However, total expenditure on asylum is published in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts, available at:Home Office Annual Report and Accounts 2022-2023 (publishing.service.gov.uk)HO annual report  (pdf, 9727.7KB)

Youth Mobility Scheme: EU Countries

Lord Aberdare: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to negotiate bilateral youth mobility schemes with countries across Europe to ensure UK travel businesses can hire UK citizens for critical tourism roles overseas.

Lord Aberdare: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have madeprogress in negotiating any bilateral youth mobility schemes with EU countries, particularly France, Greece, Italy and Spain.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: The UK remain open to negotiating new Youth Mobility Scheme (YMS) arrangements with other countries and territories including EU Member States. However, as each YMS is subject to a bilateral, reciprocal arrangement which also provides benefit to UK nationals, with the details agreed between the relevant parties, we are unable to disclose the status of negotiations as they occur.

Visas: Young People

Lord Aberdare: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the merits of introducing a new youth-group digital visa application process for those under the age of18 wishing to visit the UK.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: There are no current plans to introduce a youth-group visa application process specifically for those aged under 18.   Separately, as part of an overall agreement on migration reached with France during the March summit between the Prime Minister and the French President, we have committed to easing travel between our two countries for schoolchildren on organised trips. Work is now under way to operationalise these arrangements.The Home Office is also developing a border and immigration system which is “digital by default”.This will see physical and paper-based products and services replaced with accessible, easy to use online and digital services. This will provide applicants with an easy online application process, including providing biometrics and establishing or verifying identity using their smartphones.The transition towards eVisas is already underway, with millions of customers already receiving digital evidence of their immigration permission and using this to enter and live in the UK. This will be supported by clearer, accessible guidance and content on gov.uk making it simpler and more intuitive for people to understand if they are eligible for a visa, what steps they need to take to apply and, if granted, the conditions of their stay in the UK.

Visas: EU Countries

Baroness Buscombe: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the fairness of staying time limits for UK visitors to the EU compared to those for EU visitors to the UK; and what plans they have to change UK staying time limits for EU visitors to match those for UK visitors to the EU, either by agreement with the EU or unilaterally.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: The UK has a competitive offer for global visitors. All visitors to the UK from across the globe (including those from the EU) are permitted to come for up to 6 months maximum on any single visit as per our Immigration Rules - Immigration Rules - Immigration Rules Appendix V: Visitor - Guidance - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk),There are no current plans to change the Visitor route duration period. The permitted length of stay for visitors to the UK does not depend on the length of stay available to UK citizens which inevitably vary globally. We operate our immigration system in the interest of the UK.

Asylum: Applications

The Lord Bishop of Durham: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to publish statistics on the number of asylum applications that are reinstated after initially being withdrawn.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: Statistics on the number of asylum applications that are reinstated after being withdrawn specifically are not planned for publication, though they are a subset of data that is already published.The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics’ release on GOV.uk. Data on final outcomes of asylum applications is published in table Asy_D04 of the ‘asylum and resettlement detailed datasets’. Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbooks. The latest data relate to 2021. Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.Official statistics published by the Home Office are kept under review in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics, taking into account a number of factors including user needs, as well as quality and availability of data.

Home Office: USA

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask His Majesty's Government which Ministers, MPs, special advisers and other officials accompanied the Secretary of State for the Home Department on her visit to Washington for her speech to the American Enterprise Institute on 26 September.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: The Home Secretary was accompanied by two Special Advisers, one Private Secretary, three policy officials and two members of the comms team.

Asylum: Children

The Lord Bishop of Durham: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to report on the circumstances regarding unaccompanied children who have gone missing from hotels, including (1) lessons learned, and (2) steps taken, to prevent recurrence; and when any such report will be published.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: The high number of UASC arrivals placed unprecedented pressure on the National Transfer Scheme. Out of necessity the Home Office accommodated UASC on an emergency and temporary basis in hotels while placements with local authorities have been vigorously pursued. We are working at pace with Kent County Council, other government departments and local authorities across the UK to ensure suitable local authority placements are provided for unaccompanied children urgently and sustainably.Those in hotels are supported by team leaders and support workers who are on site 24 hours a day. Further support is provided on site by teams of social workers and nurses. Staff receive a number of briefings and guidance on how to safeguard children. All children receive a welfare interview, which includes a series of questions specifically designed to understand whether there are any potential indicators of trafficking or particular safeguarding issues. All contingency sites have security staff on site 24/7 and providers liaise closely with local police to ensure the welfare and safety of vulnerable residents.When any young person goes missing - UASC or British citizen - the 'missing after reasonable steps" protocol is followed and led by our directly engaged social workers. The process is to follow this protocol developed by the police and work in conjunction with the LA (Local Authorities) children's services to invoke a missing child multi agency strategy meeting chaired by children's services.The statutory guidance owned by the Department for Education requires local authorities to share information regarding all missing children locally in a multi-agency forum, therefore when a child goes missing from a hotel, the relevant local authority will convene a strategy meeting regarding them.

Community Relations and Migration

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask His Majesty's Government whether the speech to the American Enterprise Institute by the Secretary of State for the Home Department on 26 September was approved by the Prime Minister, and whether it reflected (1) Government policy, and (2) any changes to their policy, on (a) migration, and (b) multiculturalism.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: The speech was cleared by No.10 and other government departments in the usual way.

Asylum: Housing

The Lord Bishop of Durham: To ask His Majesty's Government how many people have beenaffected by the change to the move-on period for newly recognised refugees, which gives seven days' notice for them to leave their asylum support accommodation.

The Lord Bishop of Durham: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to extend the move-on period for newly recognised refugees to at least 56 days, in line with the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 and the applications for Universal Credit; and whether they will publish a strategy to accompany any such plans.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: An individual remains eligible for asylum support for a prescribed period from the day they are notified of the decision on their asylum claim. Where someone is given notice that their asylum claim has been granted, their appeal has been allowed or their asylum claim has been refused but they have been given leave to enter or remain, the prescribed period in legislation is 28 days. There has been no change to the prescribed period.Individuals should make plans to move on from asylum support as quickly as possible. We offer support through Migrant Help or their partner organisation in doing this. This includes providing advice on accessing the labour market, on applying for Universal Credit and signposting to local authorities for assistance with housing.We are engaging the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on ensuring individuals can move on from asylum support as smoothly as possible.Figures on the number of discontinuations are not available in a readily reportable format.

Asylum: Children

The Lord Bishop of Durham: To ask His Majesty's Government what funding is available to local authorities to support their responsibility for finding suitable and specialist placements for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: Local authorities receive through funding from the Local Government Finance Settlement and finance arrangements which apply to the Devolved Administrations. The Home Office provides additional funding contributions to the costs incurred by local government in looking after unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) and former UASC care leavers. UASC and leaving care funding instructions can be found using the link below: Unaccompanied asylum seeking children and leaving care: funding instructions - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) An incentivised funding programme of £6,000 is also offered to local authorities which includes transfers of unaccompanied children from interim UASC hotels and Kent County Council. Transfers will need to take place within 5 working days to qualify for the funding.

Department for Business and Trade

Electric Vehicles: Manufacturing Industries

Lord Rogan: To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have held with manufacturers about providing supportfor opening electric vehicle factories in Northern Ireland.

Lord Offord of Garvel: My officials regularly engage with the automotive industry to discuss manufacturing opportunities in the UK, including in Devolved Administrations.

UK Trade with EU: Rules of Origin

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the EU’s decision not to pause the new rules of origin rules under the Trade and Co-operation Agreement, due to come into effect at the start of 2024; and what stepsthey aretaking to encourage UK carmakers not to offshore operations to the EU.

The Earl of Minto: The rules agreed in the Trade and Co-operation Agreement were designed to reflect industry capabilities, whilst encouraging onshoring of battery supply chains. Due to unforeseen shocks, carmakers across Europe have said they cannot meet the TCA's rules from 2024 and could face tariffs. This is a shared problem and HMG is determined to work with the EU to fix the issue faced in 2024. Supported by Government, carmakers and the wider automotive supply chain continue to show commitment to the UK, as demonstrated by recent investments involving BMW MINI in Oxford and the more than £4 billion Tata gigafactory.

Electric Vehicles: Manufacturing Industries

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have for phasing cobalt out of electric car production and forsupporting the manufacture of high purity spherical graphite in the UK.

The Earl of Minto: The Government is aware of the social, environmental and supply concerns surrounding the mining of raw materials, including cobalt, for battery electric vehicles. We expect UK companies to adhere fully with UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and the FCDO works on strengthening transparency, improving governance, and finding solutions to the complex challenges of extracting cobalt from artisanal mines.We continue to work with industry via the Automotive Transformation Fund (ATF) and the Faraday Battery Challenge to support the creation of an internationally competitive electric vehicle supply chain in the UK. Anode Active Material is a strategic priority in scope of the ATF, as part of the upstream supply chain for batteries.

Cabinet Office

Ministers: Speeches

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask His Majesty's Government whether Ministers may make personal statements that do not reflect Government policy.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Ministerial Code sets out the standards of conduct expected of ministers and how they discharge their duty. Notably:Section 8.3: Ministers should ensure that their statements are consistent with collective Government policy;Section 6.5: Ministers are free to make their views about constituency matters known to the responsible Minister by correspondence, leading deputations or by personal interview provided they make clear that they are acting as their constituents’ representative and not as a Minister.The Ministerial Code can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministerial-code

Ministers

Lord Grocott: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 21 September (HL9981), whether they will now answer the question put, namely, what has been the average tenure of office notwithstanding machinery of government changes, during the past 10 years, of (1) the Prime Minister, (2) the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and (3) the Secretary of State for (a) Foreign Affairs, (b) Home Affairs, (c) Education, (d) Health, (e) Defence, (f) Transport, (g) Culture, Media and Sport, (h) Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, (i) Work and Pensions, (j) Northern Ireland, (k) Scotland, and (l) Wales.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Cabinet Office does not collate this data centrally. Notwithstanding, to assist the noble Lord’s scrutiny, a list has been compiled from public information. The 10 year period used is 4 October 2013 - 4 October 2023.Where Ministers were in post on 4 October 2013, our calculations have used the start of their tenure, which may precede that date.MinisterAverage Tenure from 4/10/2013-4/10/2023 (Rounded to the nearest day)Prime Minister979Chancellor of the Exchequer699Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs699Secretary of State for Home Affairs699Secretary of State for Education489Secretary of State for Health674Secretary of State for Defence729Secretary of State for Transport809Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport368Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs506Secretary of State for Work and Pensions543Secretary of State for Northern Ireland578Secretary of State for Scotland1219Secretary of State for Wales674

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Freeports

Lord Kilclooney: To ask His Majesty's Government which locations in Great Britain have been selected as Freeports.

Lord Kilclooney: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they still intend to pursue the creation of Freeports in Northern Ireland; and whether doing so would cause any conflict with the Windsor Framework.

Lord Evans of Rainow: Excellent progress has been made with Freeport delivery - all English Freeports are open for business and seven out of eight have final government approval. We have also announced two new Green Freeports in Scotland as well as two new Freeports in Wales. The location of each Freeport can be found on the Freeports page on GOV.UK.The lack of a functioning Northern Ireland Executive has seriously limited the scope and nature of engagement in Northern Ireland on Freeports and on Investment Zones. Officials from the UK Government and the Northern Ireland Civil Service continue to work closely together. However, on this and on so many other areas where action is needed to grow the economy in Northern Ireland, we need rapid restoration of the Executive to allow projects like this to go ahead and to benefit from the opportunities provided by the Windsor Framework.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

Energy: Meters

Lord Truscott: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of cases of energy supply companies using (1) coercive techniques, and (2) untrue statements,to try to compel customers to install smart meters.

Lord Callanan: Energy suppliers must treat customers fairly in line with their Standards of Conduct licence obligations, behave in a fair, honest, appropriate, and professional manner to ensure that consumers receive the right information to make decisions about their energy supply and have a positive experience when dealing with their supplier. The Government expects energy suppliers to fulfil their regulatory obligations. Ofgem is responsible for regulating energy suppliers against their obligations.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Tourism: Wales

Lord Wigley: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, in promoting the UK as a tourist destination, to ensure that appropriate prominence is given to the attractions of Wales.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: His Majesty’s Government works to promote the whole United Kingdom as a destination for tourists, both domestic and international, working with the devolved governments and administrations across the UK.VisitBritain promotes the UK abroad by running advertising and promotional campaigns in prospective markets. It generates a return on investment of £21 for every £1 spent; as a result of its activity, international visitors spent an additional £34 million in Wales in 2019–20 alone.Visit Wales leads on the development of a tourism brand specifically for Wales, while VisitBritain works with Visit Wales to ensure that these brand values are reflected in the broader GREAT Campaign, which highlights a number of the many wonderful destinations and experiences on offer across Wales.

Cricket: Public Participation

Lord Weir of Ballyholme: To ask His Majesty's Government what is their strategy to increase and widen theopportunity for people to participate in playing cricket.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: His Majesty’s Government is committed to supporting the growth of cricket, and widening participation in the sport at all levels.HM Government is working closely with Sport England and the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to help increase participation in cricket in those parts of the United Kingdom. Since 2019, Sport England has invested more than £34 million in cricket projects, including over £11.6 million which has been awarded to the ECB as one of Sport England’s system partners.The ECB launched its Youth Strategy in 2022, which aims to target cricket delivery in schools where the pupils are most likely to miss out on the opportunity to play. This involves delivering cricket – through Chance to Shine and the Lord’s Taverners – in schools with a high proportion of pupils qualifying for free school meals and in special educational needs schools and units. In the last academic year, the ECB reached 50,000 pupils through this programme.The ECB is also aiming to provide equal access for women and girls by delivering 2,000 gender-balanced clubs, 6,000 women’s and girls’ teams, and recruiting 6,000 volunteers to deliver recreational cricket in time for the 2026 Women’s World Cup. Over recent years the ECB has also worked with Sport England to recruit over 2,000 female British South Asian volunteers as part of the ‘Dream Big’ programme.Supporting participation in sport, including cricket, in Northern Ireland is primarily the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Executive and Sport Northern Ireland. The National Lottery supports participation in sport across the United Kingdom via its Lottery Distributing Bodies, which include Sport Northern Ireland.

Department for Transport

Sustrans: Finance

Lord Strathcarron: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the (1) value for money, and (2) benefit to the community, of the public funding granted to the charity Sustrans.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The Department for Transport has previously provided around £75m to Sustrans to maintain and upgrade the National Cycle Network since 2018/19. The Department keeps all funding under close review.

Electric Vehicles: Disinformation

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to counter misinformation about the cost, environmental impact and features of electric vehicles.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: On 2 October, as part of the Plan for Drivers, the Secretary of State for Transport announced that the Government will continue to champion the transition to zero emission vehicles, by addressing common misconceptions and showing how they can be a practical option for most drivers. Further details will be announced in due course.

Ministry of Justice

Family Proceedings: Safety

The Lord Bishop of Leicester: To ask His Majesty's Government when they intend to update the Implementation Plan which accompanied the report by the Ministry of Justice Assessing Risk of Harm to Children and Parents in Private Law Children Cases, published in June 2020.

Lord Bellamy: The Government published a delivery update on the Implementation Plan on 25 May 2023. The update sets out the comprehensive action taken so far and the next steps.

Family Courts: Domestic Abuse

The Lord Bishop of Leicester: To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect to publish a response to the report by the Domestic Abuse Commissioner The Family Court and domestic abuse: achieving cultural change, published on 17 July.

Lord Bellamy: The Government has received the Domestic Abuse Commissioner’s report; “The Family Court and domestic abuse: achieving cultural change”. We are considering the recommendations made and will publish a full response by early November 2023.

Department for Education

Schools: Buildings

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byBaroness Barran on 20 January (HL4717), whenthey first became aware of serious safety issues concerning the use of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete; and whether these safety concerns include an imminent risk to life.

Baroness Barran: Nothing is more important than the safety of children and staff. It has always been the case that where the Department is made aware a building may pose an immediate risk, immediate action is taken. It is important for young people to be in classrooms with their friends and teachers, but their safety must always come first.The Government has taken more proactive action to identify and mitigate RAAC in education settings than the devolved administrations in the UK, or indeed, governments overseas. The Office of Government Property wrote to all Government Property Leaders in 2019, and again in September 2022, highlighting safety alerts on RAAC and signposting guidance on identification and remediation. The Department has been talking to schools about the potential risks of RAAC since 2018 when we first published a warning note with the Local Government Association. The Department published guidance on identifying and managing RAAC in 2021 (updated 2022, and 2023).Since then, Government departments have been surveying properties and depending on the assessment of the RAAC, decided to either monitor it, prop it up, or replace it. This is in line with the approach recommended by the Institution of Structural Engineers.Guidance to schools since 2018 has been clear about the need to have adequate contingencies in place for the eventuality that RAAC-affected buildings need to be vacated at short notice. The Department began a programme working with the sector to identify and manage RAAC in March 2022, extended to colleges in December.The Department discovered details of three new cases over the summer, where RAAC that would have been graded as non-critical had failed. The first of these was in a commercial setting. The second was in a school in a different educational jurisdiction.It was right to carefully consider the cases and scrutinise the technical details from these. The Department’s technical officials were able to investigate the situation in one case where the plank that had failed was fully intact as it was resting on a steel beam after it failed. They concluded that it would previously been rated non-critical.Ministers were carefully considering the first two cases, and advice from officials, when a third failure of a panel occurred, at a school in late August. The Department’s technical officials also visited this school to investigate the failure. In light of all three cases, it was right to make the difficult decision to change Departmental guidance for education settings and take a more cautious approach.Following careful analysis of these recent cases, a precautionary and proactive step has been taken to change the approach to RAAC in education settings ahead of the start of the academic year, as outlined in our guidance.

Schools: Buildings

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask His Majesty's Government what is the minimum expected lifespan of new schools currently being constructed.

Baroness Barran: All new educational buildings delivered by the department are designed to a robust specification that includes minimum expected lifespan of all components of the building, both externally and internally, based on current construction industry standards.The current specification requires the minimum building life expectancy to be 50 years for the key structural components. Most buildings however last much longer with regular maintenance and proper oversight. The school estate has many excellent functioning buildings performing well as education settings from the last 150 years.